18th-26th September 2021

EVENT ORGANISER’S

GUIDE

WHAT IS THE GREAT BIGGREEN WEEK?From 18-26th September, we’re inviting people like you to host thousands of events and activities across the UK. These will celebrate how your community is taking action to tackle climate change and protect green spaces, and encourage others to get involved too. Together we will call on politicians to raise their ambition and champion action on climate change.

Ranging from concerts to community stalls; activities will be hosted at the heart of your community by teachers, bus drivers, sport clubs, artists, builders, local groups, places of worship and anyone who cares about climate change.

Great Big Green Week community hubs will celebrate local activity, raise the profile ofclimate change and show why it is relevant to your community and local decision makers.

National organisations, institutions, businesses and media outlets will join in, getting more people involved up and down the country, and putting pressure on the UK Government to up its game on climate change.

ORGANISER’S GUIDE

This September, communities across the country will join together to celebrate what they are doing to tackle climate

change, as part of the Great Big Green Week.And we want you to join us.

The Great Big Green Week will be an opportunity for us to celebrate together after the difficulties of the past year and look ahead to how we can create a cleaner, greener, healthier world.

This year, we in the UK have a huge opportunity to raise the ambition of plans to tackle climate change at home and abroad. The UK is hosting a major UN climate summit, known as COP26,

in Glasgow this November. This means Parliament and local authorities alike want to be seen as ambitious

in tackling climate change.

The Time is Now for a Great Big Green Week that sets the stage for the most ambitious climate summit ever. Together we will

show decision makers that people from all walks of lifeare stepping up to take action on climate change

- and we need them to step up too.

Help us make history: Organise a Green Week activity in your area and be part of the biggest climate event

the UK has yet seen.

This pack was written as the Government announced their roadmap out of lockdown which indicates that in-person events will be both safe and allowed under government guidance in

September. Please stay up to date on the COVID19 guidance to ensure your events are in line with the current rules

for your area at all times.

ORGANISE ANACTIVITY AS PART OF GREAT BIG GREEN WEEK

We would love you to join the Great Big Green Week by organising an activity, or set of activities in your community, linked to what you’re doing to improve your local environment.

What will make the Great Big Green Week so great will be the range of events organised to celebrate the brilliant and unique work of communities, businesses and individuals across the country. Your residents’ association might organise a community litter pick; a local cafe could offer a plant-based lunch all week;a walking group might arrange a nature walk; and a community group might arrange tomeet their MP.

Download resources on how to organise an event or Green Week in your community atgretbiggreenweek.com

HOW CAN IGET INVOLVED?

Join others across the UK, and send a message to word leadersYou can send a message from your community and join other communities in calling for ambition to tackle climate change, and produce a work of art at the same time:

⚫ Collect messages, photos, poems andartwork from your local community on theclimate action they want to see politicianstaking - in your area, up and down thecountry and across the world. From morewildflowers and clean air locally to ambitiousglobal climate commitments, it’s a chance foreveryone to have their say.

⚫ Create a beautiful display at the heartof your community with these messagesand photos. We’re working on a nationalart installation that we’d love you tocontribute to, and we’ll keep you posted onthe details of that once you’re signed up togreatbiggreenweek.com.

⚫ Share your community’s message by invitinglocal media to feature your artwork, and localpoliticians to view it during the Great BigGreen Week.

⚫ Take it to world leaders by displaying yourartwork in a local public space during theClimate Summit in November, or, if you’retravelling to the climate summit, by takingit with you.

Get involved at home:Make a Great Big Green window display to show your community that you’re taking part. Look out for resources and ideas on our website and social media.

Get involved with yourfamily and friendsOne of the simplest ways you can take action on climate change is by starting a conversation with those around you. This might sound daunting but don’t worry, we have a few suggestions to make this easier:

⚫ Arrange a climate coffee: invite a fewfriends, family members, or your whole streetto have a chat about climate change, waste,nature and other related issues over a coffee.To help you spark conversations, you canfind some tips at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources.

⚫ Host a film or book club: pick a climate ornature documentary or book, then gatheraround for a cosy Zoom call (or, fingerscrossed, an actual get together!) andexchange thoughts over a cuppa. Find ideason our website.

⚫ Play our climate quiz, in person or on Zoom,to open up the conversation and have somefun learning more. Let’s face it, we all love alittle competition. Find the quiz onour website.

Get involved withyour communityAfter spending so many months disconnected, this is a great opportunity to invite your local community to get together and celebrate your local green spaces. Here are some ideas to get you started:

⚫ Organise a litter pick with neighbours,young and old, ending with a drink and chaton a local green or in your nearest square.

⚫ Sow the seeds of a cleaner, greenercommunity: In September, seeds are fallingfrom trees, so you can arrange a group ofpeople to collect acorns and other nativetree seeds during the Green Week. This canstart a year’s worth of connection withyour community:

Come back together to pot them in November (whilst the climate summit is taking place).

Watch the shoots emerge in spring and compare notes.

Regroup next November to plant your seedlings in community spaces. This could be in the grounds of a school, a place of worship, at work, a park or any other communal space.

Alternatively you could plant wildflower seeds in a community space and watch them bloom in spring.

⚫ Come together for a nature walk, a seasidepicnic, or forest bathing! With the past yearbeing as challenging as it has, we could allbenefit from relaxing in a greenspace together.

If you are planning to hold an event or festival, we’d love for you to register it ongreatbiggreenweek.com so that you can see which events are being held near you, connect with other local organisers, and get people signed up!

If you’re interested in hosting an event, or a Green Week, we’ll be hosting webinars in early April, and recordings of these sessions will be available after these dates. We will also host regular Q&A sessions. You can find out the dates and access recordings at greatbiggreenweek.com/training.

We have also created a range of resources to help you plan and host activities – you canfind all these at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources.

I WANT TOHOST AN EVENT,WHAT NOW?

To set up a Green Week in your area, your job won’t be to organise the events themselves (though you may want to organise some of course). Your job will be to encourage others to host events. You’ll want to create a small, core team to organise it with you: start by talking to your friends and local networks. Once you have your team, reach out to other community groups (they could be schools, sports teams, small businesses, etc) to gauge interest in getting involved and invite them to host an event. Before you know it you could have 50 potential events and you can start promoting.

If you’d like to hear from people that have organised local festivals and events before, and meet others that are thinking of doing so, join one of our webinars – or watch a recording from early April at greatbiggreenweek.com/training.

You could really connect with your local community and get the attention of local decision makers by hosting a Green Week in your town.

A local Green Week can be anything from a few to a few hundred local events. As part of the Great Big Green Week, you will be able to: attend organising webinars, access promotional materials, and you will have access to our webpage where you can list your town’s Green Week and discover all the other localorganisers involved.

So if you’ve ever considered hosting a festival or Green Week, this is the year to do it!

Organise your own community green week - and involveyour whole town

Here are some things to think aboutwhen you start to organise your event

1) Decide what type of event you want to hold: what will attract most people?

○○ Think about the people in your community and what sort of event or activity will encourage them to join in and take further action on climate change

○○ You could consider any key local landmarks, industries, important geographical features, and the hobbies and interests of people in your community.

○○ You could also consider the present needs of your community. ○○ In light of the pandemic, what support does your community need? ○○ What event could help your community reconnect and recover?

○○ If you are struggling to know what kind of event to run, it’s a good idea to ask a few people from your community what they want to do.

2) Think about how your event will work within COVID restrictions, and plan for different scenarios

○○ We’re all hoping to be able to meet with groups of people by September, but we know that things are unpredictable, so consider different scenarios: ○○ How will you adapt your plan under different COVID restrictions scenarios? ○○ How would your event work outside if indoor events aren’t appropriate? ○○ How would your event work if the rule of 6 is in place in September. ○○ Finally, if the worst comes to the worst, what will you do if there’s another lockdown? Could you do an online version of your event?

EVENTORGANISING CHECKLIST

3) Who can help you organise your event?

○○ Who has an interest in the event you’d like to hold?

○○ Who has the resources to help you?

○○ How can you best include your community and who has the power to help you do it? This could be an individual, community groups, local businesses or even some of your local elected representatives.

4) On to the practical bit: budgets/venues/equipment/materials?

○○ Depending on your event, have a think about if you need a budget and how you could fund it: ○ ○ Maybe there are groups or people within your community that can donate/lend materials? ○ ○ Could a local group lend you their venue?

○○ When choosing a venue, choose somewhere that is accessible for as many people as possible. ○ ○ Consider if it’s within reaching distance for people who don’t drive and if it’s a building, are there ramps, and parking spaces near the door? ○○ Try to have your event outdoors if possible, and if it’s not, ensure there is space for social distancing.

5) Increase your impact: invite local politicians

○○ MPs and councillors need to know that there is support in their area for ambitious action on climate, so use your event to show them that your community wants to see more from them.

○○ You can find a guide on engaging your MP at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources, and we’ll provide a list of suggested talking points and asks to all that sign up on the website.

6) Pick a date: How long do you have to organise the event?

○○ Think about how much time you have to plan your event. Developing a timeline of all the steps you’ll need to take will help you see whether you have enough time.

○○ Next, decide on a date and time for your event between the 18th-26th September when the Great Big Green Week will take place.

○○ If you’re inviting your MP to attend, they’re more likely to be available and in your area on a Friday.

7) Choose a name!

○○ Think about names that are likely to appeal to your community, or just include your town’s name in the event, e.g. Huntingdon Great Big Tree Tour. Avoid language that could be divisive or confusing.

○○ You don’t need to call the event anything fancy - it’s often the case that the simpler the name, the better! Does it tell your community what you’re doing and why?

8) Promote your event: who needs to know it’s going ahead?

○○ First, who are the key individuals or groups that need to know about your event? E.g. If you’re arranging a litter pick, you may need to notify your local council/body in charge of waste disposal.

○○ Second, who will make your event impactful? MPs and influential businesses can be key in helping you attract media attention.

How to promote an eventto your community

Your friends, family and neighboursSpeak to your family, neighbours, and colleagues and get them excited about your event and why it’s important. To help them understand what the Great Big Green Week is, you can use the template letter and blurb at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources

MPs and local councillorsInvite your local MP and Councillors to take part in your event and tell them about the ambitious environmental commitments you would like to see in the run-up to COP26. Use our MP engagement guide at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources.

○○ Third, reach out to other local groups and businesses you’ve not yet spoken to – they may want to help you with your event or organise their own.

○○ Finally, promote to the rest of your community.

Flyers/postersTo get the word out, ask your local newsagents, coffee shops, sports clubs, libraries, places of worship to display a flyer or poster in their window or near their counter. Template posterswill be on offer at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources from May. While you’re there you can get them on board too - be that helping with your event or organising their own! Social mediaAre there local community Facebook pages or groups that you could advertise the event on? You could ask the same local businesses you approached above to promote your event on their social media accounts.

You can also create your own Facebook event and invite local businesses and members of your community - don’t forget to share the website on the event page. You can access images for social media promotion at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources

Local media and publicationGet in touch with local newspapers and maybe even regional TV and radio. There are more tips on getting local media coverage at greatbiggreenweek.com/resources.

Have a think about local newsletters: do local businesses run their own or is there a village or town newsletter in which you could promote your event?

Why not get in touch with your local tourist board and register your event on their website. This could be a great opportunity to connect with people from outside your community and inspire action for the climate.

Don’t forget to register your event on greatbiggreenweek.com.

GREATBIGGREENWEEK.COM

@theccoalition@theclimatecoalition/theclimatecoalition